Humans of New York Turns Its Lens on the Middle East in a Moving Series of New Portraits

Brandon Stanton has already touched many hearts with his moving and insightful Humans of New York profiles, but the photographer recently decided to turn his lens on another part of the world far away from the Big Apple. In a partnership with the United Nations supported by the Secretary General’s MDG Advocacy Group, Stanton recently set off on a 50-day, 10-country journey doing what he does best - collecting portraits and stories from faces in the crowd in a part of the world where spotlighting individual humans is more important now than ever.

The UN enlisted Stanton to help his followers gain a more global perspective, as well as to help bolster the Millennium Development Goals, a list seeking to better the world with humanitarian goals like halving extreme poverty rates and ending the spread of HIV/AIDS. Through Stanton’s relatable photographs, New Yorkers will be able to get to know strangers from a totally different part of the Earth.

For the first leg of the trip, the UN took Stanton to Iraq and Jordan, two countries struggling with crises of many kinds including poverty, an influx of refugees and surrounding political conflict. The photos captured thus far show individuals in every walk of life - families shopping together in markets and on high streets, kids playing with objects found in vacant lots, and teenagers herding sheep on their summer breaks. Stanton captures the young and the old, the rich and the poor, pairing each incredible portrait with a quote or anecdote from the portrait sitter.

Stanton’s intimate and casual style of street photography coupled with a little insight about his subjects have made New Yorkers fall in love with his Humans of New York blog. Now, his signature style will help the world better understand families and individuals in countries and cultures very different from ours.